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Tuesday, 18 December 2012

Press Release - Looney Welcomes Passage of Council Budget

Labour Party Councillor Dermot Looney (Tallaght
Central) has welcomed the passage of the 2013 South Dublin County Council
Budget, stating that the Budget “seeks to protect frontline services and
develop South Dublin as a good place to live
and work.” The Council’s Budget was passed at a meeting on Monday, December 17th
with the support of Labour, Sinn Féin and Fine Gael Councillors, along with two
Independents. Looney has also criticised Fianna Fáil, who voted and spoke
against the Budget without offering any alternative proposals.

“Today’s Budget seeks to protect frontline Council
services such as Housing, Roads, Parks and Environmental Services, despite a
substantial drop in income from central government and other sources. We have
also managed to increase funding to the Council’s award-winning Library
Services,” stated Looney.

“Members of the Labour/Sinn Féin/Independent
Alliance on the Council have again foregone tens of thousands of euro in
Conference Expenses, following through on a 2009 pledge not to claim any money
for Conferences at home or abroad. This money has been diverted into a Window
Replacement Fund, increased to approximately €1 million, and targeted at local
authority tenants. Councillors also froze rates for businesses in the County,
after three separate rates cuts of accumulating to 5.3% since 2009. Important
supports for vulnerable people were also protected, such as housing grants for
the elderly and those who are disabled."

“Fianna Fáil opposed the Council Budget without
offering a single alternative. At the meeting, I called on them to present
alternative ideas, but, as has happened before, they could not be bothered.
They subsequently complained about burial ground charge increases; despite
knowing about these increases for more than a year they offered no alternatives
on the day or in advance. It is hard to take them seriously on the issue. Last
year, members of the Labour/Sinn Féin/Independent Alliance managed to offset
some of the increases by diverting money set aside for Councillor Conferences
to the burial grounds. Fianna Fáil Cllrs used those same funds to travel to
hotels around the country attending Conferences.”

About Me

Dermot Looney is the current Mayor of South Dublin County Council and an Independent left-wing Councillor based in the Dublin 12/6w area.
He was first elected in 2009 and will be seeking re-election in the new "Templeogue-Terenure" ward in May 2014.
He blogs from the left not only in defence of progressive politics, but in putting forward the case for 21st century socialism.